The objective of this study was to investigate whether maternal serum concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p'-DDE) during pregnancy are associated with son's semen quality and reproductive hormone levels.

We found that 98% of young men from the general population had detectable urinary levels of bisphenol A, and this was associated with altered levels of reproductive hormones and decreased motile spermatozoa.

Endocrine disrupting environmental chemicals were detected in all children in the study, with measurable levels of 4-nonylphenol in nearly one third of subjects; this is the first known published study of 4-nonylphenol levels in American children; no associations were found between the urine levels of these chemicals tested and estrogen metabolites.

The consistently large margins of exposure and margins of safety strongly suggest that prescribed and total estrogens that may potentially be present in drinking water in the United States are not causing adverse effects in residents, including sensitive subpopulations.

Gonadotropin levels and sex hormone-binding globulin seem to be affected by persistent organohalogen pollutant exposure, but the pattern of endocrine response is the subject of considerable geographic variation.

Urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (a biomarker for exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) was measured in non-smoker male workers and was related to an increase in plasma estradiol; we believe that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons can interact with the hypothalamic-pituitary axis.